Pete Stacker (AAO)
|born=March 5th, 2501 |died= |species= |gender=Male |height=181cm (5'11") |weight= |hair=Brown |eyes=Blue |rank=Sergeant Major |branch=UNSC Marine Corps |speciality= |notable= |affiliation=7th Battalion, |era=*Colonial Independence Campaigns *Human-Covenant War *Interspecies Union Conflicts }} Marcus P. "Pete" Stacker was a veteran serving in the UNSC Marine Corps during the 26th century. Coming from a family with a long history of military service, Stacker enlisted at the minimum age and joined the UNSC counter-insurgency effort on , where he first took part in Special Operations. Wounded during the course of , after recovering from his injuries Stacker was offered Special Forces training and transferred to the 7th Battalion, . Participating in a number of engagements with the Covenant, he was eventually selected by the in 2542 as a drill instructor for . Having seen child soldiers used before by the Insurrection, Stacker was always concerned with the emotional health as well as the physical capability of the trainees, but nonetheless knew when to be stern and made a fine instructor. His job finished when the candidates left for augmentation, Stacker returned to the 7th Battalion and was present for some of the most critical battles of the entire war including the battles of , , and , surviving to see its end in late 2552. Stacker remained in the military for just over the next twenty years, becoming the battalion's Senior Non-Commissioned Officer in 2560, serving as enlisted adviser to Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Forenson when he assumed command in 2569. He retired to civilian life in 2575 along with Erin Coney, as the two became engaged and were wed shortly after. Biography Early Life and Enlistment Pete Marcus Stacker was born in the Commonwealth of Kansas in the United Republic of North America on July 15th, 2501 to a modest family with a rich military background. His father, Ryan Stacker, served eight years in the UNSC Army before receiving a medical discharge following a hit from a road side bomb. Pete always had a sense that he too would someday serve in the military, and in his mid-teens the expectations placed upon him brought about a rebellious streak. Even before earning his driver's license, Pete had a laundry list of traffic violations, and by seventeen had totaled two Model 2517 pickup trucks. On the night of September 14th, 2518, Pete and a friend, Skyler Weyl, stole his father's farm truck and went joyriding, catching the attention of Officer Paisley who'd regularly brought them in. During the pursuit, Stacker nearly collided with the lead in a military convoy, swerving and rolling off the road with flames threatening to ignite its methane engine. Barely conscious, the boys were pulled from the crash by the Marines that had been driving the 'hog shortly before the vehicle exploded. Being saved by the Marines gave Pete a new respect for those serving in the military, and on July 17th of the next year, two days after his 18th birthday, he would enlist in the UNSC Marine Corps. Stacker was sent to a UNSC basic training facility on Cyrus VII for a twelve-week training session. He showed a surprisingly quick aptitude for operating and coordinating vehicles, and went on to an Armor School to learn how to command mechanized infantry. By the time he was assigned to the on Tribute, Stacker had gone through NCO Academy and graduated a Sergeant. Following three successful raids on Insurrectionist facilities with the 8th Marine Battalion, Stacker was temporarily reassigned to the Naval Special Warfare battalion stationed on Tribute. After undergoing special operations training in early 2524, Stacker was transferred into NAVSPECWAR's four-man under the leadership of Staff Sergeant . He remained with the squad up until the bombing of a in resulted in the deaths of most of and wounded Stacker. He was taken to the [[UNSC Hopeful|UNSC Hopeful]] for treatment of his injuries, and while recovering was offered the chance to train as as an ODST. Stacker accepted, and after his body was healed, transferred to the colony to attend Drop School. Human-Covenant War Onset Battle of Green Hills Joining the 212th ODST Combat Training Unit at the Carter Marine Depot in , Stacker received advance training in deep surveillance, long-range reconnaissance, and direct and unconventional warfare. Reunited with his friend Skyler and bonding with other trainees such as Otis Len, Stacker worked his way up to squad leader and looked to have a promising career ahead. But as the final weeks of his training closed in, the border planet went dark and the attacked the other Outer Colonies without warning. Stacker's platoon was outside of the major population centers on exercises when the glassing began, and though stunned, Stacker managed to get his squad moving. He figured out that the aliens never went over the same ground twice, and over the course of a week led the other recruit ODSTs around the Covenant's scorching pattern, reuniting with teams that hadn't been so lucky, and into Manastash's slagged ruins to take cover and search for survivors. Being a relatively new colony, most of the settlement was built above ground and completely incinerated along with its inhabitants, but the squad managed to find shelter in a sewer tunnel, intending to wait until help arrived. At first, they thought it had come when Lieutenant Erin Coney contacted them, but she instead ordered them to assault an alien point of interest. Despite the objections of his squad, Stacker followed the order, engaging a lance of troops. The recruit ODSTs were unprepared to fight these shielded opponents, and by the end of the skirmish all of them except Stacker and Len had been killed, including Skyler. They had allowed Coney's mission to succeed, however, and she extracted the two survivors in a Pelican before returning to a waiting corvette in orbit. Left bitter about his inability to keep his squad alive, her suicidal order, and his own decision to follow it, Stacker later confronted Coney about their deaths. She reproached him with the strategic importance of her mission, informing Stacker of the scale of the war ahead and coming to fully understand it herself. Finding themselves both disheartened by the prospect, they engaged in a romantic relationship that lasted until the corvette returned to Earth months later. Afterwards, they went separate ways, Erin to another of VADM 's operations and Stacker to complete his training as an ODST at a facility called in Kenya, east Africa. Made a squad leader in the , Stacker was stationed aboard the as part of a 100-man force under Major . Over the next two years, most of their time was spent in cryo during slipspace jumps and waiting for a ground engagement to take place, during which the unit bonded. Though Sedavian and most other NCOs remained aloof, Stacker developed a rapport with the troopers, among them who'd lost his home on Harvest, and , a bitter squad leader who'd been part of the planet's first battle. Their wait ended in 2528 with the Battle of Hat Yai, which marked to first official contact between ODSTs and Covenant forces. Dropped to the planet's surface in SOEIVs, the officers dropping in first were separated from the rest of the unit after taking fire from low-hanging Covenant capital ships, losing ten men before reaching the ground. While the majority of the unit was forced to make do on their own, Stacker and the other officers had dropped into the midst of hostile territory. Fighting alongside Stisen, the squad leader began to panic when they became surrounded by . In a failed effort to help him, Stacker told him to stay hidden and broke cover to draw the Jackals' attention away from Stisen, but moments later a plasma grenade fused itself to Stisen' armor and detonated, killing him immediately. Fleeing the rest of the lance, Stacker was shot in the arm by a particle beam rifle and fell to the ground, saved only by the arrival of the unit's senior NCO, , with whom he fought off the remainder. The Chief Petty Officer had seen Stacker try to draw the aliens away, but been too late to help. Returning to the rest of the unit, they found the enlisted men had regrouped under a squad leader named and taken their objective without any other casualties, but the space battle overhead had not gone so well, and required the troopers to extract immediately as Hat Yai was abandoned. Troubled that even the ODSTs, humanity's best of the best, couldn't change the outcome of a battle, Stacker chose to remain in cryo for their next slipspace jump. For seven years following Hat Yai, Stacker participated in a myriad of engagements with the Covenant as an ODST, including , and , transferred to the 105th's auxiliary after his former unit sustained major casualties at Asmara, including Major Sedavian. Already weary by this time, Stacker had begun contemplating suicide and was under orders to meet with a psychologist regularly. He was being considered for a medical discharge when his new unit was called upon to take part in the Battle of Jericho VII. With a ground invasion already underway, the ODSTs were dropped in after a Navy battlegroup pushed the Covenant fleet back. The ground battle went well for the UNSC thanks to the 105th taking the brunt of the Covenant army's attack. Although Marines held with minimal casualties in all other sectors, two Unggoy legions assaulted and overran the platoon's position, led by an . Stacker's squad, however, had been held back and had time to attempt to flee, but were cut off by the ornately-clad Sangheili who began slaughtering the few survivors. Stacker's life was narrowly saved yet again, thanks to Blue Team's intervention. As engaged the Elite, Vinh-030 detonated explosives in the forefront ranks of the Grunts, who upon seeing the demon slay their leader, broke and retreated despite their numerical advantage with the rest of Blue Team on their heels. Stacker accompanied the SPARTANs in returning the UNSC's chosen headquarters, becoming acquainted for the first time with John-117, and while initially shocked by witnessing the almost complete destruction of his unit, learned from talking with the Master Chief that their sacrifice had allowed almost all of the colony's civilian population to be evacuated. Stacker evacuated with most of the Marines while Blue Team was sent to met out retribution for the ODSTs. Though Jericho VII would ultimately be lost, after seeing the handful of SPARTANs turn legions of Covenant around Stacker felt that there were people who would be able to win the war. Drill Instructor While he'd only just rediscovered his will to fight, Stacker found himself facing a review board about his past performance. Although he longed to do his part as an active soldier, Stacker was forced to strike a bargain or retire from the military, and became a Marine Drill Instructor. Shipped to Reach, the center of UNSC military power in the colonies, Stacker went through DI School between April and July of 2535 and was responsible for training Marine recruits through 2544, the last 3-year tour spent as an instructor for ODSTs in Drop School. Stacker was honest with his men about the Covenant's strength, but in his own cocky demeanor showed them that it wasn't impossible to combat them. Many of those to graduate under his eye would go on to distinguish themselves later in the war, including , , , , and . Remembering him from the Battle of Hat Yai, in 2544 recommended Stacker as an addition to the staff on while preparations were being made for . Reviewing his service record, quickly approved his transfer and had him brought to Onyx for familiarization. Shortly after arriving, Stacker was unexpectedly reunited with Erin Coney, whom he'd not heard from since after Green Hills. Discussing their prior relationship, Stacker admitted he still had feelings for her, but as they split up again to begin collecting candidates decided to remain friends. Though Ambrose had encouraged him to motivate potential SPARTANs with revenge, as most were orphans of the war with the Covenant, Stacker resolved to take a different approach, having known vengeful soldiers to be poor human beings. Candidate Recruitment Stacker's first assignment was on Miridem, looking for a child named Kody Jacques. Arriving on the 16th of February, his team had hardly two days to study him when a Covenant fleet jumped into the system and began an assault on the relatively small colony. Knowing the candidate lived in an area the UNSC wouldn't be able to defend in time, Stacker made a rash decision to kidnap the boy in order to save him, despite that they hadn't had sufficient observation of him. Catching up with the boy who'd become entangled in the escort evacuating Dr. trying to get home and find his parents, Stacker managed to escape with Kody thanks to , though the Spartan gave her life defending Halsey and Kody. Stacker was left with doubts that he'd done the right thing, but comforted the orphaned boy and explained to Kody that he had a chance to prevent what had happened to him from befalling others, and his offer was eagerly accepted.The Onyx Chronicles: Recruitment I Collecting more candidates aboard the UNSC Themistocles on its path through the Inner Colonies, Stacker's final assignee brought him back to Reach, to find a boy named Daniel Clarke who'd been approved by Erin in . The boy proved to be more trouble than he might have been worth, having escaped the orphanage regularly and was absent when Stacker came to collect him. Unable to stay long, Stacker spent the night searching for him on the streets, actually managing to find him embroiled in a street brawl and call out his name, which only caused him to run. As he left the next morning, tired and disappointed, he found both Kody and Daniel stowed away aboard his Pelican, and proceeded to recruit him to the program.The Onyx Chronicles: Recruitment II Once Gamma Company had been finalized and assembled on Onyx, their training began. Mendez made Stacker a platoon leader alongside and , in charge of eleven squads of five recruits each with help from a number of NCOs, medics, or washouts of the Alpha and Beta Companies. Stacker earned the respect of his fellow platoon instructors when he rebuked a group of Beta washouts acting disrespectfully towards Tom and Lucy, pointing out their failure to graduate was their own fault.Would likely occur around Operation: JAILBREAK. He began a regular game of poker with a few other DIs, but after he taught Erin to play, few were willing to throw their pay away putting it on the table against her. After a while, the two rekindled their relationship, this time far more seriously. Stacker instructed recruits in vehicle operation during their individual talent development phase of training. Despite his best efforts, incidents of military property damage were a common occurrence due to several troublesome candidates. Though frustrating at times, Stacker cared deeply for the young soldiers and helped to ensure every one passed the rigorous physical training and survived augmentation. His time on Onyx came to a close when the Gammas left for the UNSC Hopeful as part of , given a promotion to Gunnery Sergeant and returned to the 7th Battalion after saying goodbye to Erin. Closing Years When Reach came under heavy attack, Stacker's ship was one of the first to arrive in-system. Given command of a contingent of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, he was tasked with the defense of 's outskirts while the civilian populace was evacuated. Not long after his men were engaged, the UNSC sounded a general retreat to minimize its military losses, at the expense of what would be thousands of lives. Stacker refused, using a general distress call to ask for volunteers to continue evacuation efforts. Immediately he was contacted by Admiral and warned he was disobeying a direct order, and was to fall back for extraction immediately. He again, refused. Hundreds responded, including individuals and units from the and the , along with a battalion from the UNSC Army under Sergeant Major . Without any military transports available, Stacker planned and led an attack on the New Alexandria spaceport in the heart of enemy-controlled territory, and took control of almost a dozen large passenger shuttles. With surface-to-air fire support provided by Duvall and SPARTAN-B312, the shuttles escaped an overhanging Covenant corvette and headed for Earth indirectly through the Cole Protocol, saving several thousand lives. In holding back enemy infantry however, Stacker and his squad remained behind. Though he would be decorated for his heroism later, Command wouldn't officially send him any assistance. It would be Lieutenant that came to his rescue, flying in through heavy ground fire to extract him and his squad and return to the . While her actions had been unauthorized and reckless, her bravery and skill as a pilot impressed Captain . To follow the letter of law while remaining fair, Keyes assigned her the workload of the Autumn's late Pelican wing leader in addition to her own duties, the responsibility all but officially promoting her to Flight Captain.This could account for the discrepancies of referring to Foehammer as both Captain and Lieutenant in Halo: Combat Evolved. }} When the Autumn left slipspace, the vessel was immediately attacked by Covenant warships that had tracked the cruiser's jump and arrived first, discovering the coordinates had led them to . The ship's AI, , miraculously fended off the Covenant and destroyed four enemy ships, but was unable to prevent several dozen boarding parties from entering the ship. Rallying his squad, Stacker led the defense near Cryo B, and at a request from the Captain ordered PFC Dubbo to escort SPARTAN-117 to the bridge. Despite holding the boarders, their enemies' sabotage succeeded in other areas, forcing the crew to abandon ship. His squad fought their way to a and evacuated, touching down on the surface of Halo. Their escape would be short-lived, as several lances of Covenant troops trapped them within the rock outcropping they'd landed on. Fortunately, they were able to hold out until the arrival of John-117, helping defend their position until could pick them up. Stacker's squad regrouped with the ODSTs under command of Maj. on a Covenant-held butte that the Marines had designated . After a night of rest during which a raid was conducted on the , he and his men were designated and called upon to take part in the attack on an island containing the " ," a map room that could lead them to Halo's control center. Landing under fire on the island's shore, SPARTAN-117 led them in securing a beachhead before Echo 419 provided the SPARTAN with a Warthog to scout ahead. The Marines followed on foot, clearing up any hostiles they'd missed, but were caught in the open when reinforcements arrived in . A handful from Zulu and the other fireteams were saved thanks to the sacrificial diversion provided by , provoking the Spirits into a chase. As the ranking survivor, Stacker ordered them into a sheltered ravine while he and PFC Dubbo radioed for transport. As a Pelican arrived, the Master Chief began transmitting the data found within the Cartographer, pinpointing the ring's control room. Stacker opted to meet the assault force Silva would inevitably send in the field rather than fall back to Alpha Base. The control room turned out to be heavily defended, and even as the assault force was halted and scattered, Zulu's dropship was shot down in one of the snowy canyons. Stacker and his team were cornered in a dead-end valley and under fire from a Wraith when they were rejoined by SPARTAN-117. Commandeering Zulu's Warthog, the Master Chief aided the Marines in regrouping with another small unit and a Scorpion tank before pressing on to the control room through several adjoining valleys, but when a Pelican became available pulled out and left the SPARTAN to fight his way in alone. Zulu was given some well-deserved rest, but their extreme situation would soon call them into action again. Hell-bent on earning glory for the 105th, Major Silva ordered Stacker to take his newly-replenished squad on a raid to capture the , thereby completing Operation: RED FLAG's original goal even while the men under Lieutenant captured the Truth and Reconciliation. As it turned out, the Prophet had never left the ship and was discovered by McKay's force, while Stacker walked into a hornet's nest. Most of his squad was slaughtered by Kig-Yar, but the rest to their surprise were captured by the usually take-no-prisoners Covenant and brought aboard a small ship outside the main Covenant fleet. The Jackals planned to sell the humans as slaves, a market that had recently begun to emerge, but when Halo was destroyed by the Pillar of Autumn’s reactor explosion, Stacker led a revolt that took the aliens by surprise. Managing to take some of the pilots prisoner, Stacker forced them to jump to a randomized location before hailing the UNSC, asking for a ship to rendezvous and pick up the survivors. In all, twenty of the Autumn's crew and civilians captured at Reach were recovered by the , while the Jackal ship and prisoners would be seized by ONI. Battle of Earth Stacker's actions during the Battle of New Alexandria were still being reviewed and prevented him from being recognized, but was allowed to be present for the award ceremony for John-117 and Avery Johnson, and thus was onboard when the came out of slipspace and began the assault on Earth. Both he and PFC Dubbo took part in its defense before boarding In Amber Clad. With Regret's flagship, the , entering the atmosphere over , a strike team of ODSTs was assembled to reinforce Marine units already on the ground, with Stacker in charge of Second Squad. As their flight of Pelicans skimmed over the rooftops of Old Mombasa, a shot down two of the dropships and caused Second Squad's to crash-land, killing and their pilots. Deciding to find better cover in the buildings nearby, the ODSTs nearly walked into an ambush, but were alerted by an overeager Kig-Yar sniper. dealt with it, but as they advanced further he was taken hostage by a sword-wielding Elite. was able to down the alien's energy shields with an overcharged plasma pistol, and in the next instant Stacker delivered a BR-55 burst to its head, saving their squadmate. Second Squad took cover in the abandoned , but were soon discovered and had to repel enemies led by an Elite Ultra until John-117's arrival. Fighting back out to their crash site, they were met by PFC Dubbo and another Marine pulling up in a Warthog which the Master Chief would commandeer, crossing the bridge while Second Squad would be flown in by dropship. The Scarab's presence forced them to set to set down short of their rendezvous point, intending to take the M12G1 "Gauss 'Hog" to their destination. However, they swiftly fell under attack by a pair of Ghosts on patrol and Stacker became separated, his squad cornered. To buy them an escape, Stacker rammed one of the RAVs with the 'Hog and took off with the Ghosts pursuing him. Unable to fight back, he called out over the radio, reaching Lieutenant of the . She directed him to a park where he found himself boxed in, running his vehicle in a loop to evade several enemy snipers. SPARTAN-117 soon rejoined him along with several Marines, taking the vehicle's gun and together fighting their way out of the park.The author's idea of fitting between sections of . They soon reached what was left of , Staff Sergeant their ranking officer. As the Scarab passed over them and into the canals, Banks and the Master Chief took several men in pursuit while Stacker held down the command post. They would all be brought to the In Amber Clad before it chased the Penance through its slipspace rupture. Battle of Installation 05 .}} During the brief jump, all personnel the In Amber Clad had evacuated were integrated into its own Marine complement for the battle ahead, and Stacker was able to catch up with his old squad leader, Avery Johnson. Coming out of the Solemn Penance's slipspace wake, its crew found that they had arrived at a second Halo ring. Commander had the ODSTs placed on standby, and soon dropped 1st Platoon in with the Master Chief to secure a landing zone. After taking a heavily-defended ruin overlooking one of the installation's lakes, Stacker and his squad accompanied the SPARTAN through a series of structures that appeared to have been built on top of the Forerunner design. Fighting through Covenant armor, Hunters, and Drone swarms, they eventually reached Regret's holdout by crossing the lake aboard gondolas, and supported him in assassinating the Prophet. Stacker's squad had just started back on the gondola while Cortana and the Master Chief stayed briefly to search for valuable intel, when one of the Covenant ships that had arrived with destroyed the building with an energy projector, leading the Marines to believe the SPARTAN Killed-In-Action. Making his report to Commander Keyes, his squad soon joined the Commander and Sergeant Major Johnson to infiltrate Installation 05's to retrieve its . Racing against and , the humans reached the Library first, but were unable to fend off the Covenant. and were killed, and Stacker was taken prisoner along with Johnson, Banks, and Keyes. Even captured, the three Marines stubbornly tried to protect Keyes at their own risk, but before any form of torture began, Tartarus intervened, saying they were to be brought before the Prophets. Aboard the Covenant Holy City, the prisoners were able to gain insight into just how powerful their enemy really was, and were even more horrified to see that they had the with them. The Forerunner ancilla referred to Keyes as a , and recognizing the term, instructed Tartarus to use her to activate the Installation. The prisoners were taken back aboard separate Phantoms; Stacker, Banks, and Johnson in one, with Tartarus, Keyes, and Guilty Spark in another. As Tartarus brought Keyes to Delta Halo's control room, he gave his subordinates permission to execute the unneeded prisoners. In the nick of time, however, the Arbiter appeared and engaged the Brutes. Seizing the chance to escape, the three Marines boarded a Scarab that had been left unattended, and joined forces with the Sangheili to stop Tartarus. Covered by the Arbiter's Banshee, Johnson, Stacker, and Banks moved the walker into position and fired on the control room door, allowing the Arbiter to enter along with Johnson and a number of other Sangheili, freeing Keyes and stopping Halo's activation just in time. After learning from Guilty Spark about the Ark, the humans were returned to Earth by shipmaster of the . Return to Earth Upon returning to Earth, Stacker proved instrumental to the resistance in Africa. It was he who suggested using the ancient fortifications of a place called for a base of operations, himself having completed training as an ODST there. With most networks over Africa down, Stacker supervised a team of technicians to track John-117's descent as Truth's dreadnought entered the atmosphere, coordinating with assets from all branches of the UNSCDF. After a team in got a lock on the Chief marking his landfall near Mount Kilimanjaro, Johnson immediately put together several teams to recover him. While they reached him with no problem, avoiding Brute search parties thanks to the Arbiter, the Jiralhanae started closing in just after they located the SPARTAN. Splitting up, Stacker's First Squad accompanied the Chief and took no casualties thanks to his heroic actions, rescuing Gunnery Sergeant Nathan Reynolds after was slaughtered by a Brute Chieftain and his Phantom. Despite having their ride out shot down and Johnson captured, the Marines followed John-117 to help him kill the Chieftain, spring Johnson, and fend off reinforcements until a back-up dropship arrived. While their mission had been successful, the multitude of signals being sent and received drew Covenant attention to the base. Commander gave the order to abandon Crow’s Nest, knowing the ancient defenses had no chance of withstanding a Covenant attack. As most Marines proceeded to evacuate in Pelican transports, Johnson, Reynolds, and Stacker stayed behind with a number of marines, all of whom had volunteered to defend the perimeter as evacuation got underway. Unfortunately, most of these were attacked as they retrieved equipment from the barracks, and were slaughtered by , with Stacker among a small number of prisoners. Not one to die lying down, Stacker and two marines that were under guard by a Jiralhanae Captain used a knife to cut their bonds. The escape attempt came simultaneously with the arrival of the Master Chief, and as he engaged, the marines gathered up the fallen weapons strewn around and joined in the fight. Shooting their way out of the barracks, the survivors were evacuated aboard , piloted by Lieutenant . Instead of accompanying Keyes to a new command post, he requested to be dropped early after spotting a Warthog convoy headed away from the base, carrying supplies to troops in Voi. Soon after he joined them, they came under attack by Loyalist Banshees on strafing runs, pinning them long enough for to join the attack, and Stacker split the convoy. His rearguard group made a stand, but with limited ammunition was overrun, saved only by the timely intervention of another mechanized group led by Reynolds and the Master Chief. Pushing ahead, they found the advance group in more trouble and the survivors had holed up in a small structure. With new vehicles dropped off by Hocus, the Marines were able to push through Covenant armor and a heavily-guarded roadblock into Voi. Skirting the depression surrounding the Portal, Stacker’s group of marines moved into the , using the LAAG of one jeep to suppress scattered Covenant infantry groups inside the buildings. Meeting up with other Marines, they fought through Ghosts, AA Wraiths, and even a Scarab before arriving at a Marine command post where Stacker took charge as the Master Chief continued on to destroy a gun, clearing the skies for Lord Hood to begin his attack on the dreadnought. The strike failed, and as Truth's fleet entered the portal to the Ark, a Flood-infested Covenant ship slipped into Earth's atmosphere and crash-landed nearby. Aware of the danger at once, Stacker tried to prepare the platoon-size Marine unit with him in the command post, but were overrun too quickly and only a handful escaped. Encountering the Master Chief doubling back, they rallied to take back the post, finding their fellows either infected by the Flood or driven insane. Pressing on when they learned Cortana was possibly aboard the crashed ship, they were joined by Special Operations Sangheili led by and when the Shadow of Intent arrived, following the Flood that had slipped through their blockade. Once Chief had retrieved a storage device thought to contain Cortana, they were evacuated to the Intent while the Separatists glassing Africa. It turned out they had only found a message from Cortana, hinting at a solution through the Portal. Resolving to find it, Keyes asked for volunteers to crew the , and Stacker was one of the first to step forward. Keyes commanded the Dawn, and among its all-volunteer crew were John-117, Avery Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, Janette Hocus, Marcus Banks, and Chips Dubbo. While Lord Hood prepared to defend Earth from the Covenant city turned Flood Hive of High Charity, the Dawn and joined 'Vadum's fleet through the Portal. Battle of Installation 00 and War's End on the Ark. }} Once they arrived on the other side, 'Vadum's fleet engaged the Jiralhanae at once, a fight the human frigates wouldn't stand a chance in. Keyes sent several teams by Pelican to find a landing zone for her frigate on the Ark itself, one of which was led by Stacker. Several Pelicans were shot down, one of which was carrying PFC Dubbo, but the Dawn would be counting on them to complete their mission. The area his team investigated wouldn't work as a landing zone, but they did spot a Scarab walker nearby and made note of it. Picked up by Hocus and Johnson, they regrouped at the landing site the Master Chief had secured and Stacker was charged with leading the Dawn's compliment of armor. Fighting back through the Brutes deploying to assault their landing zone, they passed through massive security wall that put them in view of the Ark's Cartographer. As they advanced, the Scarab reappeared as the Covenant's last line of defense, and Stacker's tanks supported the Chief in taking it down. Learning from the Cartographer where Truth was going to activate the ring, the allied humans and Sangheili planned a coordinated attack to bring down an energy barrier protecting the Citadel he'd hidden in. Donning his black ballistic armor, Stacker joined the the Master Chief one last time in battle as part of his team. With her wingman shot down, Hocus had to deploy them in the midst of a Covenant AA position and pull out, leaving the SPARTAN and ODSTs to fight up and clear the beach on their own. Succeeding by skill and fortitude, they received a pair of vehicles dropped off by Commander Keyes' Pelican and continued to take and deactivate the first tower, and then the third when Johnson's assault team went silent. As the Shadow of Intent moved in to destroy the Citadel, the Portal opened again with the Flood-infested High Charity coming through, Flood dispersal pods raining down and damaging the Intent. With its weapons disabled, the Marines and the Master Chief would carry out a final assault, fighting with , Warthogs, and a tank to outmaneuver and destroy two Scarabs that had been desperately dropped in. In the aftermath, with the Prophet dead and the Flood beginning to overrun the Ark, Stacker and the other surviving UNSC personnel save for John-117, Cortana, and Avery Johnson were evacuated by the Shadow of Intent, returning through the slipspace portal to Earth. Although half of Africa had been glassed to ensure all Flood infestation was purged and most of Earth's major population centers had been damaged by Covenant attacks, the war was over. The uneasy truce with the Sangheili held, and the remaining Covenant Loyalists had fled the system. As the debris started being cleared to make way for rebuilding, the portal collapsed, just as the Forward Unto Dawn's forward half made it through carrying the Arbiter, who confirmed John-117 had not returned. Assuming command of the Sangheili, he and Lord Hood finalized the cease-fire on March 3rd, 2553, with the dedication of the on a hillside overlooking the former site of New Mombasa. Stacker was present to oversee a ceremonial rifle team of seven give a three-volley, 21-gun salute, the last shots to be fired during war. Interspecies Union Conflicts 2574 IU Summit Personal Life Personality and Traits Stacker was a naturally effective NCO, never letting himself show fear or hesitation even when faced with the most horrific displays of the Covenant's power and leading by the example of a confident, tough-as-nails Marine to embolden the men under his command. His efforts to inspire them sometimes led him to the point of recklessness, but he always tried to shoulder the risk himself and get out of danger one way or another. As a drill instructor, he passed his defiant, never-say-die attitude on to many trainees. He did his best to impart in them wisdom to match their martial skill, preaching that the abilities granted to them should be used to defend those in need, not inflicting disproportionate retribution as many of the orphaned recruits desired. Internally, however, Stacker was growing weary of losing battles and lives to the Covenant, though his resolve to fight never faltered becoming a stranger to hope of humanity surviving. The only person he confided this in was Erin Coney, whom he knew shared his feeling of hopelessness yet could be counted on to never give in. His energetic nature was reaching its end towards the end of the Human-Covenant War, especially after the Fall of Reach, but his faith would be restored by witnessing the actions of John-117. Finding his and other SPARTANs' heroics something to believe in, he began to find meaning again in his own previously hollow optimism. After the war with the UNSC on its way to recovery, he felt as though his job was done, and looked forward to retirement after passing on his duty to a new generation of soldiers. Family Pete comes from a long line of Irish-American and German-American citizens. His family has an extensive legacy in the military, tracing their military heritage to as early as the Third World War. His father Ryan was a non-commisioned officer serving during the Insurrection and his brother and sister also served careers in the UNSC Navy and Marine Corps, respectively. Ranks Gallery File:Spartan1.jpg|An incident with members of the SPARTAN Program. Notes and References